Post #812839 by Hurricane Hayward on Thu, May 23, 2024 4:19 PM

It only took 13 years, but here's the intriguing back story of the Moonkist Coconut ...

In the updated story and review on The Atomic Grog, I unravel the history of this cocktail created by legendary mixologist Mariano Licudine. It begins in the 1930s with a distinctive drink by Donn Beach served in a coconut, decades before the Piña Colada. The Coconut Rum likely inspired Licudine to create the White Cloud in the 1940s, revealed by Jeff "Beachbum" Berry in the Sippin' Safari 10th anniversary edition.

Hired away from Don the Beachcomber by The Mai-Kai, Licudine put his new Moonkist Coconut on the 1956 opening-day menu, where it has remained for nearly 70 years. Founding owners Bob and Jack Thornton gave Licudine creative control of the menu and put him in the spotlight, unprecedented in the mid-century.

I review the recipe published in the 1950s, adding my own spin that gives it a modern Mai-Kai flavor profile. All this and more at AtomicGrog.com or https://www.slammie.com/atomicgrog/blog/2011/07/12/mai-kai-cocktail-review-in-search-of-the-elusive-moonkist-coconut/